


Why do you stay?

by IfOnlyICouldFlyAway



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Pseudo-Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 15:02:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18317672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IfOnlyICouldFlyAway/pseuds/IfOnlyICouldFlyAway
Summary: Sometimes it’s easier when you have someone at your side.





	1. Chapter 1

 

It had become a ritual for Diego.

He would wake up in the morning drenched in sweat as his eyes darted back in forth around his room, his heartbeat loud in his ears and his breath heavy. His hands gripped the sheets beneath him with such force that they would rip, he would never notice until afterwards. Diego’s body would go completely numb for a split second before the room became too hot, sounds became too loud and the shaking of his hands became too unbearable. He wanted to scream, to get up and run away as fast as possible, his mind screaming danger and that he needed to escape, but his body pulled him down as if saying ‘no’.

 _im going to die,_ he thought. Why couldn’t he move? Why did his entire body feel like it was engulfed in flames? Where was he? Was he already dead? Why was no one coming to help him? 

His mind became clouded with thoughts. His body seemed to be glued to the bed since he couldn’t even scream, let alone lift a finger. 

_Wake up_

Diego swore he could hear a voice call out to him, but his eyesight was clouded. Who was calling him? Why couldn’t he see them? 

_Wake up Diego_

His breath grew heavier, it seemed as if a Boulder was being placed onto his chest making it harder and harder for him to breathe. 

_You're okay, I’m here..I’m here...._

_Look at me_

_Diego look at me_

This had to be dream, because how else could this be possible? Yes, Diego could hear the voice but he couldn’t see where or from who it was coming from. He tried to turn his head or lift his hands but all he felt was the Boulder getting heavier.  _I can’t see you..I c..c-..can’t._

Diego waited for a response, maybe somehow the voice had heard him, maybe it would help him, maybe it would save him.

But all he heard was silence, the white noise becoming an eerie ringing inside his ears. Had the voice abandoned him? For a moment he panicked, if he was alone, if he was doomed to die this way, no one would ever find him- that is of course, if anyone was even looking for him. 

_Look at me...Look at me! Diego look at me!_

”Diego!”. 

All at once his senses kicked in, his brain restarting at the speed of light as his entire body came to life. It felt like he had been beneath the ocean and was only now resurfacing, he could breathe now, he could _hear_ him self breathe. 

He sat up gasping for air, his brain taking in every noise at once. The sound of the cars loudly honking outside and the chriping birds that were nested behind his old air conditioner that barely ever gave fresh air and always had Vanya snickering in the corner when he tried to fix it.

 _Vanya,_ his mind suddenly came back to earth.

He finally ripped his eyes away from the old and tiny window (which he hadn’t even realized he had been intensely staring at for the past few minutes) and noticed the small and cool hand that was softly stroking his own. Looking up, his dark eyes met light blue ones staring back at him in worry.

”Vanya” he breathed out. 

Vanya let out a relieved sigh and her shoulders dropped, a soft smile taking over her face as she placed her hand on his cheek. Diego subconsciously leaned into her hand, her touch feeling like Ice against his sweaty skin. 

She leaned in and placed a soft kiss against his forehead, her hands drawing soft circles on his cheek. “You had me worried” she whispered. Diego didn’t blame her, he had been thrashing around his bed apparently, seeing as all the sheets were on the floor and the pillows were thrown across the room. 

“I’m sorry baby”.

He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her in closer, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. Vanya sat on his lap staring down at him, waiting, almost as if she expected him to start thrashing around again. He reassured her by bringing his lips up onto hers , kissing her gently and passionately, his stubble against her cheek making her giggle. Diego smiled against her lips, finally pulling back did he notice that she was wearing his shirt- his shirt that fit her more like a dress. 

He played with the hem of the cloth and leaned his head against Vanya’s chest, he rarely ever acted this way, he hated being soft around everyone and yet here he sat in bed with his girlfriend running her long fingers through his tousled hair.

After a moment of sitting in silence did Vanya pat Diego’s back and slide off his lap, giving him a reassuring smile and standing up from the bed. He watched her walk around the small boiler room picking up the sheets and pillows that he had thrown onto the floor, she threw them towards him which he caught with one hand.

vanya returned to the bed and neatly placed the pillows at the end of their small bed, patting them down and dusting them off. Diego looked down at his watch and realized that it was only three in the Morning, no wonder vanya looked like she had just woken up with the tired smiles that she had given him. 

Diego leaned back against the frame and let out a breath, hearing vanya patting around the room once more to turn off the small lamp before returning to the bed. She pulled up the covers and slid underneath them, scooting over a bit just so she could plop her head down on to Diego’s chest. He placed a muscular arm around her small and thin shoulders, feeling a sense of calmness and  exhaustion take over his entire body. Nightmares always did take away his energy. 

Diego pondered silently for a while, he ran his fingers along vanyas shoulder, her breathing becoming soft and slow. “I don’t know why you stay” Diego whispered. 

Vanya shifted slightly so she could tuck her head underneath his chin, “well” she began, “Maybe I don’t want to leave”. 

Diego smiled against her head and placed a kiss on her cool skin.

That was enough for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Diego was always prepared for anything.

Since the moment he could walk, Sir Reginald made sure that Diego would be able to fight against anything and win. The more dangerous the situation, the better. 

Diego was great at throwing knives, you’d have to be blind or an idiot to not see the inborn talent that he possessed. And Reginald  _had_ seen his potential, but he wanted him to be better, to be faster and think quicker.

The first thing he had done in order to further challenge his power was to place him in a large room that seemed to be never ending. However whenever he tried to walk deeper into the room, he was stopped, soon the realization dawned on Diego. 

It was a room of mirrors. 

Ten year old Diego spun around slowly, seeing  himself in various angles. He didn’t understand.  _What does this have to do with knives?_ He had thought. It was only when he caught sight of the various cameras on the ceiling watching him that he understood. This was a test. Diego scoffed and squared his shoulders, he wasn’t stupid, if Reginald thought that making him fight in a room of mirrors was going to be a challenge he was dead  _wrong._

_Bring it on._

As he took smaller steps inspecting the room, he heard a click go off above him. Instinctively he ducked and rolled for cover, arms above his head waiting for the impact to come.

Nothing happened.

When he opened his eyes, he was faced with darkness. Reginald had cut off all the lights and had plunged him into cold nothingness.

what was the purpose of mirrors if he couldn’t see? 

The silence of the room was disrupted when static echoed off the mirrored walls, a small speaker above him from the sound of it. 

“ _Number two”_ came the all too familiar voice of the one and only Sir Reginald.  _“Today’s test is going to be different so pay attention. You have the ability to throw knives, let it be known now, that is not enough, you are not enough number two.”_

Diego’s fists clenched at that, biting back a remark as he listened to him continue.

_”your mission today number two, is to make it out of this room relying on and only on your senses. Every few seconds there will be a flash of light, use that as an advantage._ _Your opponent today is yourself number two. Begin”._

With that, the static was gone and was replaced with the sound of an engine roaring to life. In seconds daggers were being thrown at him from all directions, the flash of light every few seconds giving him a glimpse of his own reflection. 

For the most part, he was able to avoid most of them, some of the barely scraping his skin and leaving behind small cuts with droplets of blood. The room felt like it was getting smaller and smaller, he couldn’t hear himself breathe as all his attention was caught on the sound of the machines reloading and shooting. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Reload.

With each Tick, dozens of daggers came at him from more directions then the first time. The machines were getting faster and he couldn’t keep up. Reginald knew he couldn’t. 

Tears welded up in his eyes as he tried and failed to dodge the daggers, he wasn’t fast enough, he wasn’t smart enough, he wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t- 

A scream ripped through the room as a sharp pain erupted up his leg, cautiously looking down he saw a dagger had gone straight and clean through his thigh. He held on to his thigh with such force that had him shutting his eyes in pure agonizing pain. 

The machine didn’t stop. If anything, the ticking only got faster and faster, the bright light blinding him as it flashed over and over again. He could see his reflection between the flashes, it was blurry but he could see the disappointment of a small and weak  _child_ looking back at him. 

_Stop. Please, please stop, I can’t do this-_

“Stop! Stop it!”. 

Diego sat up with his heart pounding inside his chest, his breathing hitched and sweat dripping from his forehead. His entire body was tense and prepared for a fight, he wasn’t a child, not anymore, he could take on anything and anyone and he _would_ win. He wasn’t weak, he’d challenge anyone. 

His mind was still stuck inside that room, he could hear the ticking echoing inside his head. He looked around in panic, where were the knives coming from? If he could find them, if he could just- if he could just prove to Reginald that he wasn’t weak, that he wasn’t a liability. 

_I’m not a child, I’m not weak Reginald, you’re wrong about me and I’ll prove it_

His hands were still shaking and his legs felt numb, his legs..his eyes snapped down at his legs and he felt his heart begin to race. He ripped the covers off of him and stared at his skin, where was the dagger? Where was the wound? All he could see was an ugly scar that had obviously healed a long time ago. 

Had that not just happened yesterday? Diego was about to reach over to grab his watch from his nightstand when he noticed a small flash of light.

He slowly held up his hand and noticed the ring on his finger. It was only when he looked closer did he notice the words that were carved into the simple band.

”Here to stay” he mumbled curiously. He turned his hand around cautiously. weird, he thought to himself. 

His attention was suddenly ripped away from the ring when he noticed the three figures that stood by the door whispering. His mind instantly knew who the taller one of the bunch was, vanya. She was kneeling down and whispering to two small...children? One of them was a pale little girl with messy brown hair with a pink bandaid over her nose and clutching a stuffed bunny tightly to her chest. 

Diego could see the tears in the little girls eyes as vanya ran a comforting hand up and down her shoulder.

Then he noticed the boy. He was shorter and had big brown eyes that resembled his own, he too was crying and holding onto the girls hand as they listened to vanya whisper comforting words. Diego could barely make out the words that came from her lips. 

After a few seconds the little girl seemed to notice his staring and lightly tapped vanya’s arm to look at him. Vanya looked back over her shoulder and saw that yes, indeed he had woken up. She smiled softly and turned back to the children and wiped away the tears from their small chubby cheeks. She calmly ushered them back into the room across from theirs and closed the door quietly behind her.

Diego sat up a straighter as vanya closed their door quietly with a small “click”. She dropped her hand from the handle and turned back towards him, he could see the way she played with her fingers nervously. 

He tried to say something, anything. But the words couldn’t form themselves as he opened his mouth. Vanya must’ve noticed this because she crossed the room and carefully moved the pillows from the bed in order to sit down.

Only when he looked at her face up close did he notice how tired she was, her shoulders slouched and her short hazel hair was messy with random strands sticking out. 

“Y-y...you” he stuttered out nervously. He licked his lips and tried again. Just picture the word he thought.

”Y-you ar..are here” he finally got out. 

Vanya tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, “why wouldn’t I be?”. 

Diego stared back for a moment. Why wouldn’t she be? Well for one, vanya Hated the mansion, well actually, she hated Reginald but still. Anywhere Reginald was counted as hell to her. 

Vanya hummed all of a sudden as if she had just realized something. She stood up from the bed and walked over to a table across the room, she picked up a bundle of clothes and briefly searched through them before pulling out a small square. 

Walking back to him, she handed Diego the square- which was actually a wallet. He stared at the old beaten up wallet in his hand as if it were some alien technology, he looked up at vanya who only stared back expectingly.

she waited for a few seconds before realizing that he wasn’t going to do anything. She huffed and snatched the wallet back, flipping through it before stopping and handing it back. 

Diego understood why. 

There were pictures taped inside the wallet, and quite messily too. The first one was of him and vanya, he knows it wasn’t him that took it because he’s looking down at the ice cream cone in his hand distractedly while vanya places a kiss on his cheek.

He smiles at the memory of their first real date at the forest park, he remembers how he had tried to impress her by climbing up the tallest tree only to fall back down when grabbing a weak branch.

The next one is of the children he had seen vanya talking to, and suddenly he can remember what their names are.

_Bambi and Benjamin._

Diego remembers the day that they were born, one moment he was walking with a very pregnant vanya through a park and the next he’s driving like a lunatic to the hospital. 

_“Oh my god, oh my god, ohmygod”. vanya is panting as he carries her into the infirmary._

_Nurses come running as soon as they walk through the door. carefully placing her onto a bed, Diego follows as they wheel her into a room._

_Diego was prepared for anything. Or so he had thought._

_He had almost passed out twice as vanya screamed in agony and dug her nails into his hand._

_“Baby you need to breathe-“_

_” You need to fucking breathe Diego-“_

_”okay baby calm down-“_

_”don’t tell me to calm down you little-“._

Diego laughs at the memory and reaches out to grab vanyas hand, taking notice of the ring on her finger. He places the wallet down and inspects their intertwined fingers. Her ring wasn’t big and fancy but instead simple, the same words engraved into the metal. 

He brings her hand up to his lips and places a kiss on the pale skin, he can hear her laugh as he pulls back and instead pulls her into a kiss. 

“I love you” he repeats over and over against her lips. He can feel her smile against his own. 

They part when they hear a timid knock come from the door. Vanya looks back at him and searches his eyes for confirmation, as if asking ‘are you okay with this?’. 

Diego nods and swallows the lump in his throat. Vanya slides off the bed and opens the door, two little heads pop into the room and stare for a second before running up onto the bed and into Diego’s arms. 

Diego laughs as they both rapidly talk about the dream that they had and how they want to go to the park in the morning. 

He looks over Bambi’s shoulder and sees vanya lean against the door with her arms crossed and a content smile across her lips. 

Diego mouthed a ‘I love you’ and smiled wider when she mouthed back ‘I know’.

yeah, Diego knew that his family was here to stay. 

And that was more than enough for him.

 

 


End file.
